Butch, I love your spotted canes. Is that Guy Savard about 2 feet tall or taller
to the right of the large leaved rhizomatous? It has very dark lvs.
Love that big rhizomatous btw, with red stems.
Jackie
Show your Blooming Canes
Jackie,
No, that isn't Guy Savard (lost him). That may be Little Miss Mummey.
The big rhizo is 'Cachuma'.
I'm in Phoenix this week and the connection at the hotel is spotty and can drop out at any time. Didn't think about bringing a cable - may have to buy one later today.
Butch
I just found this thread and noticed Butch mentioned in the first couple of posts about a plant that looked like Sophie but he doubted it was her. How do you tell if a plant is a Sophie or not? This is one I have had for years and would love to ID. I cut it back severly this past spring and it is just now starting to bloom again. That is a 16" pot it is in.
This message was edited Aug 6, 2007 8:28 AM
and a close up of a new leaf. They get to be about 14" when they are mature.
SusanGa, You have your Sophie Cecile and Irene Nuss tags reversed.
Irene doesn't have any spots while Sophie is loaded with spots.
Ardesia I think that is Sophie and a gorgeous one at that. I don't know how
many Sophie look alikes there are out there but I would call yours Sophie.
Jackie
Good call Jackie. Looking good Susan.
Ardesia, I don't know squat other than what ones look like on the web and some I've seen at other's homes that say it is Sophie. They are all so close to one another I'd hate to declare a winner. We need a DNA test to find out the father.
Here is a group shot of the new ones and a stunted Sophie that I recently potted up. These are in full sun from sun up to about 2 PM and then get some filtered shade later in the day.
Butch, those look great. I like all of them. What's the name of the solid green leaf, no spots? Is that fischeri with all the pink blooms? It's amazing.
Jackie
Thanks Jackie and Butch, I'll just call it Sophie until someone questions it. LOL
Incidentally, my plant gets to be about 5' tall and has lived outside, year round, in my garden for 7 years now. Prior to that she was a winter house plant in my previous home. This past spring that Easter cold spell shocked her and she lost all her leaves. That is why I had to cut her back so severly.
Oh My Goodness .... I am Loving all these Beautiful Begonia's! Y'all are great growers! That one called Richmondensis with the Cheery, Cherry Blossoms is Gorgeous! I can see how y'all become addicted to these plants! I have two Begonia's .... this one that was labeled "Frosty" I bought about
2 1/2 years ago and it has never bloomed. I just love the leaf color.
Please y'all ..... tell me what to feed Begonia's! What type of fertilizer do you all use for these plants?
Here's one I've had for quite a few years, that someone ID'd as Begonia 'Benigo' .... it hasn't bloomed in a couple of years. I think maybe my plants need more light ... tried full sun for awhile but the leaf color really washed out and they didn't look good at all. Guess I should try moving them to a brighter location and feeding them!
New to the forum -- but with some questions:
I think this is a cane, but what I'm really hoping for is some advice on how to get seed pods. I thought they were supposed to be brown papery things and I don't have any. Am I supposed to hand pollinate this to get them? I forget the name, Angelwings or Dragon wings -- whatever the most common one is. The flowers just drop, but I can't see where any pods are forming or anything is replacing them.
I started this from seed and I am inordinately proud of myself. PLEASE don't tell me it's the easiest begonia to grow from seed! LOL!
One more question. The shopping malls, office buildings, well, everywhere, it seems, have little bedding begonias planted by the thousands. Would they typically have seed pods? If I wanted to get seed from them when would be the best time?
Thanks,
Suzy
.
Wow Suzy .... You grew that from seed???!! It's Gorgeous!! It sure looks like a cane type Angel Wing Begonia to me but unfortunately I wouldn't have a clue as to which one. I have no idea how to get them to go to seed, but sure would like to try seed from that one. It is really pretty! Maybe one of the pro's will come along soon and give you some advice.
Great Growin!
Lin
Jackie,
I don't know the name of the solid green one. The closest I can ID it to would be albo-picta or coccinea. I have one that has reddish blooms too.
Lin,
Great looking plants. I'm surprised they aren't blooming for you. As for fertilizer most advice I've seen is slow release and/or water soluble. I've been spraying mine with MG at a higher rate during summer once a week. Most recommendations I've seen is 1/2 strength once a week or every time you water. I've also seen for FL growers to use another slow release other than Osmocote due to it breaking down in hot climates.
Suzy,
Congrats on growing that DW from seed. A ripe seed pod should be a dried out, brown, papery pod. I don't remember my DW developing ripe seed pods either. Maybe it is a sterile plant? Anyway, they are so affordable and available anymore that I just use them as annuals. There isn't a better bloomer than DW (other than tuberous). They are also very easy to propagate from stem cuttings.
I scattered some seed from some of my other canes this winter and after 8 months, they are about 3 inches high. No wonder most folks just propagate them from cuttings.
It looks a lot like a Dragon Wing Suzy, where did you get your seeds? That may help id it a bit easier.
Nice growing everyone!!
Oh, so sorry I didn't mean to ask for an ID, I have the seed package downstairs and it's Dragonwings Red. I was mostly concerned with harvesting seeds so I didn't have to buy them again...10/$4.95 or something like that. The only thing I seed that even looks like it could be a papery seed pod looks more like dried petals. It is tissue-paper thin and pliable, not rigid, hard or otherwise pod-like.
PLLin, It really is the easiest begonia to start from seed, the only thing is the seedlings are 50% thinner than a piece of sewing thread, and you probably already know the seeds are like dust, so it's very scary. LOL! Out of the 10 seeds, I had 11 germinate. The plant you see is 5 or 6 plants together because they fall over, but if you have some growing together they hold each other up. I gave the other ones away.
Speaking of falling over, do I chop off the tops of this, or do I stake it? I read somewhere that a fella in California has a six-footer!
Thanks for all the replies,
Suzy
Talk about SUCCESS!!! How do you get 11 to germinate out of 10? Inquiring minds want to know.
Really though, it is more economical to buy D(ragon)W(ing) plants these days. I bought a six pack for $5 this spring and I've heard others who got them even cheaper. I decided last year this is one that I will treat as an annual from now on.
You can chop them or stake them. If you chop them (really should prune them though) cut at a node and either stick it in some moist starter soil or water root them.
I wish all begonias were this easy, showy, sun tolerant, and affordable.
Lin, your weather is a lot like ours and Richmondensis grows beautifully in the ground...........I need to find you some...............
This is my 'Matchmaker'...
..and my Sinbad, which doesn't look quite as nice as some of yours, but I still like it fine :)
Love the Matchmaker.
Scubadoobie, Love the alias. Your Matchmaker is stunning. The big polka dots really stand out. I'm still struggling with maculata and Sierra Mountain King.
I wish Sinbad was an easy one to overwinter since it does so great during summer. At least it looks like it is becoming a popular plant like Dragon Wings so can be treated as an annual (4 to 5 dollars for a gallon size isn't a lot of money these days).
Jackie,
Here is the green leaf, red blooming cane like the pink bloomer.
That's a beauty Butch. Love the bright red blooms.
Here is a bright spot among darker rhizo begonias. 'Suzanna' is a slow grower and is lighter in color than 'Pink Minx'. The holes aren't from bugs but rather falling pine needles. Seems the thinner leaf begonias have more problems with falling needles. Pine cones and branches can really do a number.
Butch, I've not even heard of Suzanna, must be fairly new. Love your dark lvd.
I have finally ordered from Bonnie. Talked to her yesterday, what a nice lady.
I ordered the Pink Minx, Flamingo Queen, Fannie Moser, since Raydio's
is gorgeous, My Spec Angel, and Orrell. Seems like I remember Orrell as
being one that logees used to carry many yrs ago. Bonnie said it is a sturdy
cane, nice silver and green lvs.
I found some Baccto light potting soil. I used this many yrs ago before it
became so hard to find. It feels heavy when repotting and I first water it down,
but in a couple of days, it dries out. Since I can't get Fertilome till spring,
will try this.
Butch, If I can keep Flamingo Queen alive and growing, will try to start you one.
First I have to get past being intimidated by it. lol I'm working on your Sylvan
Triumph and U177 right now. The U177 in case I don't have (2) S. Triumph's ready.
Jackie
I got 'Suzanna' last year off eBay. It is thin leaved but is one of the whitest leaf cane begonias I've seen. 'Pink Minx' is very similar except it does have a pink cast to it.
'My Special Angel' is a must have. Not that mine is doing like it did two years ago but the leaves are great. I have not seen 'Orrell'. You will have to post some pictures of it.
Never heard of Baccto potting soil so I had to look it up. It doesn't have a lot of peat in it, does it? I noticed it is from Michigan Peat Co. is why I ask. So far all the recent transplants (80+) in Nature's Helper are doing pretty good despite the triple digit heat wave we had recently. Thank goodness we are back to mid 90's - almost balmy (ha ha).
Here is 'My Special Angel' when it really looked great (Oct 2005).
Butch, will check out the Baccto bag and see what it contains. I don't think
it has a lot of peat
I will post pics when my plants come in.
10 degrees cooler here too Butch. Down from 106 or so every day last week.
So opressive, I could barely breathe outside. Our nights should start cooling
down soon.
At least our morning temps are in the high 70's to low 80's now. Nothing like Phoenix - 90's in the evening and morning (it feels that way at least). Great for cactus.
Hi. I have a couple of pics but I don't know the name. Hope it is OK to post.
Susan
=^..^=
close up
=^..^=
9kittymom,
That looks like one big hanging basket. I don't know which one that is - it looks similar to the first one in the post. Regardless of no ID, it's a keeper.
Very nice Begonia.